La Femme Nikita: The Complete First Season (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)La Femme Nikita (the series) is the best TV show I have seen in years. I have taped all episodes (Season 1 - 5) and am still watching all re-runs on TV. The entire cast (Peta Wilson, Roy Dupuis, Eugene Robert Glazer, Alberta Watson, Don Franks, Matthew Ferguson) have done a tremendous job to create strong chemistry between each character.
The producers, Joe Surnow and Robert Cochran (producers of "24") have created plots and turns that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The music by Sean Callery and costumes by Laurie Drew created a hype new look for the TV series.
La Femme Nikita DVD set is a must own, must see collectors' item!

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The complete first season of this highly rated, cult favorite USA Network original series is now available on DVD. Condemned to life in prison for a vicious crime she didn't commit, Nikita (Peta Wilson) reluctantly chooses to live as a secret government assassin whose life is controlled by a mysterious agent (Roy Dupuis) and his colleagues. Based on the characters created for the film Nikita.

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Mission: Impossible - The Complete First TV Season (1966) Review

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(More customer reviews)When Mission: Impossible, the movie came out, I was expecting a big studio update of the classic TV show. What I got was yet another Tom Cruise star vehicle where he preens and postures and seizes the spotlight at the expense of everyone else in the film. To say I was disappointed is an understatment -- I was incensed! The IMF team killed off? Jim Phelps a bad guy? You've got to be kidding me! The TV series' concept of an elite covert operations team working together to save the United States from enemies, both foreign and domestic, was bastardized so Tom Cruise could flash his 1000 watt smile and save the day all by himself. I was so angry, I vowed to never see the film again or any possible sequels. It's a vow I've kept to this day and will continue to keep.
I'm sure that Mr. Cruise and his represtatives had something to do with the delay in releasing the original series on DVD. Thankfully, now that Paramount has shown old Tom the door, we can now see the series that started it all. Peter Graves' Jim Phelps is missing from the first season (Steven Hill of Law and Order plays Dan Riggs, the leader of the IMF during the first season). But Martin Landau as Rollin Hand, Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter, Greg Morris as Barney Collier and Peter Lupus as Willy Armitage are all present. Unlike most of the spy stories from the 1960's (and unlike the Tom Cruise film series), Mission:Impossible, the TV series, took a more cerebral approach to its stories. There's no James Bond in these stories -- just a team of agents who covertly depose all types of dictators, terrorists and traitors without leaving any evidence of their involvement. Just as Columbo turned the TV detective genre on its ear so did Mission:Impossible turn the spy genre on its ear.
Here's hoping that those who only know Mission:Impossible from the films have a look for themselves. I daresay they'll realize that the TV series is vastly superior to the film series and that the complete absence of Tom Cruise is a very, very good thing.

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The head of the "Impossible Missions Force", a top-secret government group of operatives, starts a tape recorder and finds out about his latest assignment. Throughout most of the series, they would have to stop some petty dictator or powerful bad guy from whatever evil plot they had against the U.S. or Democracy in general. The elaborate use of electronic gadgetry, masters of disguise and detailed plans that require split-second timing made this tv show an "on the edge of your seater"!

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36 Hours (1965) Review

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(More customer reviews)James Garner is excellent in this WWII thriller about Major Pike, a man who is drugged and kidnapped on a mission in Lisbon, which was a hub of intrigue during the war years. He is taken to an "American hospital" in Germany, where they tell him he has amnesia, and has been hospitalized for years, in hopes of getting information on where and when the Allied invasion will take place. With some hair dye and eye drops that blur his vision, and a newspaper that is dated "May 15, 1950", Maj. Pike is disoriented, and believes the elaborate hoax, but has an uneasy feeling that all is not as it seems.
The people who pretend to be "helping him" are Eva Marie Saint as his nurse, Anna, who has a numbered tattoo from Auschwitz, and will do anything not to be sent back there, and Rod Taylor as Major Gerber, the psychiatrist. Werner Peters is the evil SS Agent Schack, whose only interest is in his own promotion. The main thrust of the plot is how Maj. Pike is to survive, and how he can keep the Nazis in the dark about D-Day. There are a few twists to the story, which for the most part holds water, though there is a slight discrepancy that to me is now obvious, but I have seen this film countless times, and do not think I noticed it until the 3rd viewing.
The taut script is based on Roald Dahl's "Beware of the Dog", and the direction by George Seaton is nicely paced with many tense moments. Dimitri Tiomkin composed the soundtrack, and the black & white cinematography by Philip Lathrop was shot on location in Portugal, Germany and Yosemite National Park. Total running time is 115 minutes.

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36 HOURS - DVD Movie

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La Femme Nikita: The Complete Fourth Season (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)All the fans who wrote Warner Brothers and demanded the 4th season, job well done. I am quite surprised Warner Bros. did not add the 5th season on to this one since it only had 8 episodes but oh well us fans will take whatever we can get. Wish the price would have dropped some but the episodes themselves are worth it.
****Episode Guide Season 4****
1.Getting Out Of Reverse- Micheal obtains Birkoff's help to restore Nikita's memory and learns that Operations wants him canceled.
2.There Are No Missions- Micheal learns that Adrian is not dead and seeks her help but realizes she has also suffered memory loss.
3.View Of The Garden-Micheal offers section a deal he returns to Section with Nikita and asks for his status back in exchange for not revealing the truth about Adrian to George, he allows Section to help Nikita.
4.Into The Looking Glass- Micheal kipnaps Nikita and heals her, Nikita pretends not to be healed but Madeline is not fooled.
5.Man In The Middle- Nikita is forced to marry a suspected red cell member under Sections orders.
6. Love Honor And Cherish- The man Nikita has married is not who he turns out to be.
7.Sympathy For The Devil- Operations offers Micheal and Nikita a deal if they secure the safty of one of his vietnam comrades, Birkoff learns he may have a brother.
8.No One Lives Forever- Nikita is chosen to participate in a new program, she can leave section but must break all ties with section, she contacts Micheal and is brought back in.
9. Down A Crooked Path- Section is attacked with a virus that wipes out information from operatives minds, but who released the virus may be surprising.
10.He Came From Four- A new operative named Jerome is brought in and has paranormal abilities, but who is he really?
11.Time To Be Heroes- Micheal and Nikita are sent to take care of 4 operatives at Section 8 known as "the farm" where new recruits are trained, but when Nikita and Micheal are captured section 8 recruits come to the rescue.
12.Hell Hath No Fury- Red Cell's lead strategist is captured but will not break, Madaline puts herself on the line to obtain information from him.
13.Kiss The Past Goodbye- Micheal learns that Elana has a new boyfriend but learns her boyfriend is a section 1 operative sent to protect her from her uncle who wants to kill her.
14.Line In The Sand- Section 1 learns of a trader inside the section, Operations wants Birkoff canceled.
15.Abort, Fail, Retry, Terminate- Birkoff makes a sacrifice.
16.Catch A Falling Star- Micheal and Nikita are sent to a small US town to retrive a fallen satalite.
17.Sleeping With The Enemy- Section 1 and Red Cell make a 2 day truce to find out who is trying to have both organizations destroyed.
18.Toys In The Basement- Nikita is wounded in a mission but before Micheal can get to her she disappears, he finds out she is being held in a basement of house of a guy who wants to marry her.
19.Time Out Of Mind- Nikita goes undercover to a mental hospital to find information about the antidote to a lethal virus.
20.Face in the Mirror- Nikita escapes section 1 and undergoes plastic surgery to her face, so she is not recognized.
21.Up The Rabbit Hole- Section 1 knows Nikita has altered her appearance but cannot find her, Micheal discovers her in the most improbable place, Micheal and Nikita both escape Section 1 and live on a boat.
22.Four Light Years Farther- The plot thickens, Micheal and Nikita are found and brought back into Section, they decide to cancel Nikita and spare Micheal, but before she is canceled Mick Schtoppel comes to the rescue, who really is Mick Schtoppel? Has Madaline and Operations finally gotten what they deserve. Nikita is more important to Section 1 than she will ever know.

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LA FEMME NIKITA:THE COMPLETE FOURTH S - DVD Movie

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Lust, Caution (Widescreen Edition) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ang Lee breaks through again with a masterful adaptation of Eileen Chang's short story, Lust/Caution (like what he did with Annie Prolux's similarly brief story, Brokeback Mountain). While the hype seems to be mostly misplaced on the controversial acrobatics displayed by Tony Leung and Tang Wei in bed, Lee's storytelling leaves one breathless.
The love story unfolds against the backdrop of 1930's Japanese-invaded Shanghai where tyranny and suffering were synonymous. Nubile Wang Jia Zhi played by Tang Wei joins the resistance movement and gets herself drawn into the role of a spy to crumble the traitor, Mr Yee. In between the espionage and wild climatic trysts, both of them unknowingly embroil themselves in love and deceit, much deeper than they would have liked themselves to.
Tang Wei, as a newcomer to cinema, is impeccable. Her evolution from a wide-eyed country girl to a seductive temptress is enough to make the hardest of most men, in this case, the distrusting Mr. Yee fall for her. Wei acts pretty much on instincts and her body language does wonders at seducing the somewhat vulnerable Mr. Yee played by multiple-award winner Tony Leung. Wei breaks down in the memorable scene where she's talking to the resistance leader on her unyieldingly sacrificial role that is both a torment and insidious attack to her emotions.
As usual, Tony has the penchant for playing dark brooding men and in this instance, an evil Chinese traitor. He does not act. His presence already commands attention as the cynical no-nonsense minister. The pivotal sex scenes, split into three parts, are not just there for visual enhancement. They actually convey the shift in roles between the two throughout their complex relationship. The raw emotions displayed on their faces were enough to convince anyone hard-hearted to think twice about the essence of love. I must say these are some of the best bed scenes you'll ever witness on film.
Of course, the supporting cast of Joan Chen as Mrs Yee and Wong Lee-Hom as Tang Wei's resistance compatriot, Kuang Yu Min, is every bit just as spectacular. In the end, the story about love is bittersweet. You'll also see how fervent the resistance movement, which puts the enemy above self and others, was through Wang Jia Zhi's eyes. Lust Caution is 157 minutes' of rewarding watch that will linger on in your minds well after the credits roll. (A+)

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Provocative, thrilling and passionate, Lust, Caution is the daring new film from acclaimed Academy Award®-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Set against the backdrop of a transforming country,a young woman finds herself swept up in a radical plot to assassinate a ruthless and secretive intelligence agent. As she immerses herself in her role as a cosmopolitan seductress, she becomes entangled in a dangerous game that will ultimately determine her fate. Erotic, breathtaking and suspenseful, this award-winning film is being called "exquisitely beautiful" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) and "lushly sensual" (Leah Rozen, People).

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Enemy of the State (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)MOVIE: Enemy of The State is another one of Jerry Bruckheimer's mid 90's action extravaganzas. He reunites with Tony Scott to bring us this action flick about government coverups and how technology is used to basically track every aspect of your life. The movie is about a lawyer who is unwillingly thrown into a wild cat and mouse chase. A congressman is murdered near a reservoir where research is done on migratory geese. So, unknowingly, the whole thing is caught on tape and ends up in the hands of a nerdy and young Jason Lee. He realizes what he has in his possession and during a foot chase he bumps into his old friend played by Will Smith and secretly drops the tape in his bag. Now Will Smith's character is thrown into a world of espionage without knowing why he is being hunted. He meets up with Brill, played by Gene Hackman, an ex NSA agent who ends up helping him. Hackman basically plays a reincarnation of his character in Coppola's The Conversation. The movie is directed at a fast pace by Tony Scott, and it's an overall entertaining action flick. I felt the movie tried to be smarter than it actually was and that the characters were very plain and boring.
ACTING: I didn't like Hackman in this role, but Will Smith brought some life into the movie. For people who haven't seen the movie in awhile you should check it out to recognize some young faces including Jack Black, Jake Busey, Jaimie Kennedy, Seth Green, and the of course the previously mentioned Jason Lee.
VIDEO: The great thing about the recent releases of Con Air, Crimson Tide, and Enemy Of The State are the new anamorphic transfers of the films. They are greatly appreciated and are so much better than the old ones. The quality of the transfer has not improved greatly in terms of picture quality, but there is a noticeable difference.
AUDIO: As for sound we get a very dull Dolby 5.1 mix. All the dialogue is usually center heavy, and rarely does action actually envelope you from the surround speakers. The track is the same from the old release, so it's not the best. There are some scenes with helicopters and some big explosions that utilize the surround speakers well, but overall it's a very dull mix.
SPECIAL FEATURES: The "making of" featurette was actually more extensive than I was expecting. They talk more about the gadgets used in the film versus the actual movie, but overall I found it to be interesting. All the interviews were done back during the making of the movie and it was a pretty extensive behind the scenes for what the movie is. One thing I found extremely interesting was that they talked about a scene where Will Smith is chased by cars in an underground tunnel in his bathrobe. In reality, the cars didn't fit into the tunnel so they had do take the cars apart and weld them back together in the tunnel. The entire scene was maybe a minute long! I just found it interesting that all that work was done for maybe a blip of action. Anyway, the next featurette is basically some on set footage. Overall the two featurettes do justice for what this movie is.
BOTTOM LINE: I got confused whether this was indeed an "extended" cut of the film or not. The cover you see on places like Amazon is not the cover that you actually get. The cover of the film is actually labeled "Special Edition", but the menu does indeed say "Unrated Extended Edition". So, I am thoroughly confused. I didn't notice anything noticeably new, and the running times listed are identical between the old disc and the new one. Still, the upgrade is worth it.

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Hot Hollywood favorite Will Smith (MEN IN BLACK, INDEPENDENCE DAY) stars with Academy Award(R)-winner Gene Hackman (Best Actor, 1971, THE FRENCH CONNECTION) in a high-powered suspense thriller where nonstop action meets cutting-edge technology! Robert Clayton Dean (Smith) is a successful Washington, D.C., attorney who -- without his knowledge -- is given a video that ties a top official of the National Security Agency (Oscar(R)-winner Jon Voight, Best Actor, 1978, COMING HOME) to a political murder! Instantly, every aspect of Dean's once-normal life is targeted by a lethal team of skilled NSA surveillance operatives who wage a relentless, ultra-high-tech campaign to discredit him and retrieve the incriminating evidence! Also featuring Regina King (JERRY MAGUIRE, BOYZ N THE HOOD) in an impressive, star-studded cast -- get ready for the action to explode as Dean desperately races to reclaim his life and prove his innocence before it's too late!

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The Jason Bourne Collection (The Bourne Identity / The Bourne Supremacy / The Bourne Ultimatum) Review

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(More customer reviews)This set is a silver box containing the individual releases of all 3 Bourne movies. The first thing I noticed was a new 2007 DVD of The Bourne Identity with the spine number 61103847. The package looks like the previous "Explosive Extended Edition," except this one's just called "Explosive Edition," and lists Feature Commentary by Doug Liman as an extra feature. I was looking forward to hearing the commentary, and when I plugged in the DVD, it wasn't there! Even though the disc itself says 2007 on it, it's exactly the same as the 2004 version. If you're not into commentaries, then this is a great set.

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Get ready for non-stop action, edge-of-your-seat suspense and spectacular chase sequences with everyone's favorite assassin in The Jason Bourne Collection!Matt Damon is Jason Bourne, an elite government agent determined to outwit and outmaneuver anyone who stands in the way of his finding out the secrets of his mysterious past.Follow his explosive, action-packed adventures in three blockbuster films from one of the most popular series of all time: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.Loaded with hours of bonus features, The Jason Bourne Collection is the ultimate Bourne experience for movie fans everywhere!

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